+ Who’s your celebrity crush? I burst out laughing at Joanna’s running commentary and “Looking at photos of him is like looking at the sun” would make a great t-shirt slogan! Also, I loved loved loved the comments.

+ This Everygirl article broke my heart. (Grab the Kleenex.) “Since his death, I have celebrated life each day. I hug each person I love when I say goodbye, as he would have done. I treat strangers with extra kindness, knowing that at some moment we will all experience loss and will have to continue to be out in the world unsure of what’s ahead.”

Happy Sunday, everyone. I hope you’re enjoying the weekend. I am putting together my spring reading list and I’ll be sharing it with you all on Tuesday!

If you’re looking for some weekend reading, I’ve got you covered with my favourite links…

+ Last night, I started The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and I am already 100 pages in. This is a story that desperately needed to be told. It’s tearing me apart. I can’t stop my hands from shaking while reading certain parts. All I can think is “this feels so real.” And that’s because it is real; it’s happening every single day. Here’s a great interview she did with Atlanta magazine. I am ecstatic it’s being adapted into a movie!

+ Have you heard about the fashion search engine TAGWALK? A former assistant quit her job to create it! Here’s her story. “Van Houtte’s startup is designed to help the fashion industry track down looks with as much specificity as possible, from runway shows in Paris, Milan, London, and New York that occur twice a year. It’s like Google, but in Anna Wintour-speak.”

+ Diane von Furstenberg shares some of her greatest design inspirations in this short video.

+ What life as a human rights lawyer is really like. “We need those who will work to amend, change, or even break laws if need be, all in the service of protecting our fundamental right to a life of equality, freedom, and dignity. Being a human rights lawyer is one such way.”

Happy Friday, everyone! How was your week? The weather here in Toronto is freezing (-15 celcius) and super windy, so I’m staying in and catching up on my favourite shows and doing laundry. On the bright side, Daylight Saving Time starts at 2 a.m. this Sunday!

Hope you have a good one! If you’re looking for some weekend reading, I’ve got you covered with a ton of my favourite links this week…

+ A Week of Outfits: Toby. LOVE Toby’s personality and sense of style and I could not stop laughing at his commentary. My favourite line: “I like blazers because it’s like a grownup. I like wearing layers. I know my style — I just know.”

+ Finding space. I cried while reading this post. So beautifully written and heartfelt. “Slowly, being single didn’t seem like the worst thing. Slowly, I didn’t equate single or alone with loneliness.”

+ I can’t believe I just discovered OKREAL! In honor of International Women’s Day, they featured inspiring women from their #OKREAL community. I could really relate to this one: “It opened my eyes to how difficult it is to be an active advocate for your own health.” I learned this firsthand a few years ago. Read all their stories here.

+ I was curious about this new networking app so I downloaded it yesterday. Do you use it? Thoughts?

+ “I’m in.” Miss these two, but they’re still at it! “Thank you to both of you for your profound levels of activism within our community, leading up to a historic event that I did not think I would witness in my lifetime. Thank you for how you treated children, both your own and all of America’s, with kindness, humor, and spontaneity.”

Happy first weekend of March, everyone! Spring made an appearance here in Toronto, but that was short-lived. We’re back in the deep freeze again (Right now, it’s -13 celcius with the windchill!) How are you spending the weekend? I fell behind on my winter reading and I’ve got a stack of books to cozy up with this weekend. Read any good books lately?

I hope you make the time to rest this weekend. I came across so many good things on the Internet this week and as always, I’m sharing them with you. Enjoy!

+ Too Busy (not) To Pray. I read this post while waiting in the blood lab this week. Perfect timing as always. “My so-called “busyness” is often the culprit of my lack of joy, lack of flexibility, and lack of a peaceful heart. But, still, even knowing this, I say things like “I have too much to do,” and then scurry past the most importance task of just sitting with the Lord.”

+ Amanda followed me on Instagram recently and I am so happy she did. She’s just so real and encouraging. This post: Our wedding and love story is well worth the read. I cried in public.

+ Don’t Wait for Permission. Griffin opens up about how she was turned down when she first applied for her Pure Barre franchise and how she kept on chasing her dream. “Don’t wait for permission to think outside the box. I’m not talking about being dishonest or breaking the rules, but the people who go above and beyond don’t wait for approval.”

Happy weekend, friends! Got any fun plans? Seriously, where is February going? I really wish the year would slow down just a little bit.

Have you filed your taxes yet? I plan on filing mine online this Sunday. I can’t wait to get it out of the way. Also, will you be watching the Oscars? I don’t think I’ve watched any of the movies in the running, but I’ll be tuning in nonetheless. We used to do an Oscars pool at my old workplace and it was so much fun!

Whatever you end up doing, I hope you have a good one! If you’re looking for some reading, I’ve got you covered with my favourite links…

+ I discovered Griffin on Instagram this week and I appreciated her super honest post, Loving the Body I Hate. I wrote these words on a Post-It and stuck it on my bathroom mirror: “But, if you struggle with loving your body, like me, remember that love is first an action. One of the best things you can do is act in a way that’s loving to your body, even if your mind is telling you otherwise.”

+ Teenagers who vandalized the Asburn Colored School in Virginia sentenced to read. The list of 35 books includes The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Night by Elie Wiesel, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

+ Did you see this story about the flight attendant who saved a young human trafficking victim on an Alaska Airlines flight? “Something in the back of my mind said something was not right. He was well-dressed. That’s what got me because I thought why is he well-dressed and she is looking all dishevelled and out of sorts?”

Happy Friday! Can you believe it’s the final weekend of January? It’s cold and grey and snow flurries are on the way. If it’s not too cold out, I plan on checking out the Toronto Light Festival in The Distillery District. It looks like such an amazing event!

Got any fun plans this weekend? As always, I’ve rounded up my favourite links from around the web this week…

+ The right way to fall. “The key is to not fight the fall, but just to roll with it, as paratroopers do.”

+ This was a fascinating long read. To Obama With Love, Hate, and Desperation. The director of presidential correspondence, Fiona Reeves “looked for stories. Not pro-this or con-that, not screeds, not opinions about what someone heard on N.P.R. The president needed to hear the stories — that’s what he couldn’t get himself. She thought of the letters as a periscope outside the bubble, as a way for him to see as he used to see, before Secret Service protection and armored vehicles and a press pool and the world watching.”